


Sayaka Maizono Analysis

by aishiterubanzais (ovijiaboardz)



Series: character analysis [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: Character Analysis, Character Study, Not a Story, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-27 01:58:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17757617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ovijiaboardz/pseuds/aishiterubanzais
Summary: Sayaka Maizono is a controversial character in this fandom, one who’s not very well liked. I didn’t have much of an opinion on her for a while, but recently she’s really grown on me. Here’s why.





	Sayaka Maizono Analysis

**Author's Note:**

> Not a story, moreso a rant? Are these allowed?

Sayaka Maizono is a controversial character in this fandom, one who’s not very well liked. I didn’t have much of an opinion on her for a while, but recently she’s really grown on me. Here’s why.

**She’s very intelligent and perceptive**

Sayaka is a lot smarter than she lets on. She often jokes about being psychic, but that’s not exactly the case. She’s shown to be very good at reading/understanding people, which she uses to her advantage. This also makes it easy for her to manipulate people and get what she wants, which helped her betray Makoto and likely helped her make it into the idol industry. This is interesting, too, because as she stated before (and I’ll get to this in a minute in more detail,) she spent a lot of time alone. This probably left her bored, and molded her into a dreamer. However, unlike a lot of dreamers, she has the wits and skills to climb her way to the top, which is quite interesting.

Because of this, her plan went smoothly in its early stages. She figured out early on that Leon had taken an interest in her, and choose him as the victim. She choose Makoto to frame because she quickly saw he was naive enough to work with her plan. She’s very aware of her own charisma, and uses it to her advantage, which is clever. While a lot of people dislike her for this, I can’t help but admire such a clever, cunning character who uses what she has to achieve her dreams and make things ago as she wants.

**She never gives up on her dreams**

Sayaka is very passionate about her career as an idol, and knows how tough the music industry can be. She states that she’s done some bad things in the past to get where she was, and didn’t let anything stop her. She also cares for the members of her group a lot. While I’m not saying her actions were justified, it’s pretty realistic. She just meant the others a few days ago, but she’s climbed her way to the top and known the other idols most of her life. She wouldn’t just give up on her dream and live in a school where everyone is forced to kill one another, and she’d do anything to get out, even resorting to murder.

I can relate to some of this, too. While I’d never kill anyone, I also work my hardest and sometimes step out of my comfort zone for dreams & people I care about.

I also enjoy the darker side of the never give up on your dreams aspect. While Sayaka Maizono never gives up on her dreams, she’s even stated she’s done bad things in the past. There’s a lot of implied depth behind her that we never get to figure out when in reality she’s also at the same time, and this isn’t a lie, a lonely girl who watched the magical idols dancing across a television screen. One who values hard work but isn’t afraid to step over people and has a murky sense of morals.

Does that make her selfish? A little. In retrospect, that makes her character feel more realistic. However, is she really as selfish as we believe? Probably not. She’s shown to care a lot about the members of her idol group, and once seeing something happened to them, she reacted believably. However, that wasn’t her only concern. She also was concerned for the industry and if no one was representing her group, it’d be forgotten. So her selflessness is even more debatable there.

However, does this make her a cruel, selfish person? No. How can I prove this to you? Through her ultimate talent development plan events. In case you haven’t seen them, she basically acts a sweet, thoughtful girl who gives and takes advice and if you pay attention, is exceptional at reading people. She rarely got upset, and even complimented Hiyoko after the smaller girl made an attempt to bully her. She complimented Hiyoko’s pride and dedication as a traditional dancer, a compliment that left her bashful. She’s good at complimenting people because of how empathetic she is, and her exceptional skill of reading others.

**She kicks off the first game perfectly**

Now, I don’t just like Sayaka as a character, but I also like her contribution to the plot. Think about it for a second. Danganronpa is a game of betrayal and breaking down strong and talented students into killing each other. You grow attached to characters only to watch them become exactly who you thought they weren’t. So, the first victim not exactly being an innocent victim fits this theme perfectly. A failed murder attempt that backfired being the first ever case just feels perfect for launching you into the Danganronpa atmosphere and mindset. Sprinkle in some betrayal and a cute girl who you were implied to be developing feelings for? Even better.

**Let’s talk about her charisma**

Take a look at Sayaka Maizono. What’s the first thing you think of when you see her? Can you make any generalizations? 

Sayaka acts oblivious sometimes, but as I mentioned earlier, she understands people very well. In order to be a successful pop idol, image is important. Sayaka is very pretty, and she’s well aware of it too. She uses this to her advantage to charm people around her, whether it’s the audience, Makoto Naegi, or someone she wants to listen to her and do her bidding. Say, a record label she’d like to sign. 

Sayaka could almost be written off as manipulative for this. Yet, here’s the thing: she truly cares about people. The times she attempted to cheer up Naegi weren’t fake. She sincerely complimented others in her ultimate talent development plan events, and doesn’t look down on anyone. Despite being the most famous person in hopes peak by far, Sayaka dresses in a normal school uniform and acts normally. She treats others equally and makes friends. 

Therefore, while she is definitely aware of what she’s capable of, Sayaka is a good person at heart. She values her dream and career above all else, but friends are important to her too.

**So, was the betrayal justified?**

Of course it wasn’t. Then again, that’s not the point of Danganronpa. I don’t understand why people dislike characters in this franchise just because they betrayed someone or did something morally bad. That’s the point of the game, and they’re people who were thrown into a killing game. Humans will be humans, and are bound to crack. I personally don’t think morality should be factored in TOO much when forming opinions on characters in this series. Not everyone will be a precious cinnamon roll.

I feel like her betrayal wasn’t justified, but realistic. It kicked off the story nicely and further developed her character into someone quite interesting.

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions/further points/arguments, go ahead and comment! I want to hear your take on the matter!


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